Japan's Unmanned Konbinis

Convenience stores or ‘konbini’ as they are nicknamed in Japan are paragons of convenience.

Not only can you buy tea and coffee, beer, snacks, ice cream, fried chicken, toiletries, stationery, batteries, face masks and sanitiser – you name it - you can pay your bills, withdraw cash, send letters and packages by courier, print photos and book theme park tickets.

The entrance to a Family Mart konbini. Family Mart is the second-largest konbini chain in Japan. Image: Kaleb Uri-ke

There are more than 50,000 konbinis across the country and they’re open 24/7, a reassuring nighttime glow of fluorescent light on every corner in big cities, a lifeline in rural areas otherwise devoid of amenities. Everyone uses them, every demographic. They are an intrinsic part of everyday life. Tourists revere the Japanese convenience store for its blend of the familiar and the exotic.

But things are changing, maybe even improving. The unmanned konbini is taking convenience to another level and is part of a wider retail revolution in Japan.

Konbini stores stock anything and everything to make life that little bit more convenient. Image: Kaleb Uri-ke

In April 2021 Family Mart, Japan’s second-largest konbini chain, opened a trial store on the ground floor of Sapia Tower next to Tokyo Station, a working prototype of the future of shopping. By the end of 2024, driven partly by manpower costs but mainly due to labour shortages, the company aims to be operating 1000 unmanned stores and counting. All konbini chains in Japan are moving towards increased automation and the development of unmanned technology.

Basically, an unmanned store is just like any regular konbini except there are no staff.

An 'Enter, Choose, Leave' sign at a Family Mart konbini. Image: Kaleb Uri-ke

No one crouched in the aisle restocking the shelves. No one standing at the checkout waiting to scan your choice of canned coffee and bento lunch and take your cash. No need for the human touch. Speed and ease are fundamental – ‘enter, choose, leave’ is the maxim. Lawson, another major konbini chain, refers to its own checkout-free store as a ‘grab and go’ shop.

In Tokyo, the East Japan Railway Company’s first unmanned convenience store began operation in March 2020 at Takanawa Gateway Station. The customer enters through an electronic gate. They choose their items – just like in any store - pay and leave. Simple.

The Takanawa Gateway Station konbini, which opened in 2020. Image: Kaleb Uri-ke

Unmanned stores work because an AI system and about 50 3D cameras in the ceiling track the customer from the moment they enter and, together with weight sensors on the shelves, all the items they pick up are detected. When they stand in front of a payment terminal, the product names and prices are instantly displayed on a monitor, and they pay electronically or with cash. In the unlikely event there is a mistake, the customer can override the terminal and scan the product’s barcode. Problem solved with a swipe.

Unmanned konbinis use 3D cameras (pictured) to help keep track of the store. Image: Kaleb Uri-ke

In other parts of the world, such as the U.S. and China, shopping without human interaction has failed to take hold. Amazon Go has had limited success while in China multiple chains have closed down unmanned stores or gone out of business. Things in Japan might turn out differently due to the demographic challenges of population shrinkage. Unmanned stores may prove a necessity rather than a fad. The importance of punctuality in Japanese culture means that even a fraction of a minute saved by using an unmanned konbini has value especially during the rush hour commuter race.

 - Asia Media Centre